The Eastern wrestling team will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, this weekend to compete in its third tournament of the season, the University of Northern Iowa Open.

One of the nation’s major wrestling tournaments, the Las Vegas Invitational, is also taking place this weekend and draws some teams away from the UNI Open, said Eastern head coach Ralph McCausland. The open will welcome 300 wrestlers wrestling on 12 mats all day Sunday.

“This should be about on the same level with the Missouri Open (where they competed Nov. 21),” McCausland said.

At the Mizzou Open Eastern placed two wrestlers, Kenny Robertson got third at 174 pounds and Greg Perz got fifth at the freshman/sophomore 184-pound weight class. Robertson had placed in all three of the tournaments he’s wrestled in this year, taking one first, one second and one third. McCausland will send his core group of wrestlers to compete in the meet except for Perz, who went home because of a family loss.

This season McCausland dropped some early and mid-season tournaments that the Panthers traditionally competed in hoping that his wrestlers would be able to stay healthy for the full season.

“It’s been working out well so far,” McCausland said. “We’ve had some nagging injuries but we’re doing well.”

After this weekend’s tournament the Panthers will have their first dual meet of the season, at Lantz Arena against Indiana.

“The first dual is always a test off the waters because it’s such a different format than a tournament,” McCausland said. “We usually wait ’til second semester for dual meets.”